Just because
by Greentulip
Summary: Marco turned his head to look at her when his breath hitched, his heart jumped, and his tongue got caught in his throat. He loved her. And he can't help but wish that she knew. So, I thought that the Pirate Summit was an event and am writing it here!
1. THE MAGIC TEN

Hello there :) This is my first take on an OP fic. I hope you guys like this one! :D I wrote this just because it's 101010 today. :)

Just Because

-Greentulip-

A girl in her late teens wearing an oversized jean shorts that reached halfway past her knees, a red vest shirt and a red beaded necklace, sat on one of the rails of the Moby Dick, staring lazily out in the open sea.

She was idly, yet gently fingering the red beads that hung loosely around her neck. Nobody was up yet considering it was still midnight. Well, she wasn't complaining. It was times like these where she could feel him the most.

It has been almost two years since the fight at Marineford. And although she has a crew to get back to, she decided to visit uncle Whitebeard for a few weeks before heading back to Sabaody where she would reunite with her beloved nakama.

She was so mentally stricken when her brother died in her arms that day. She rampaged so much in Amazon Lily that she almost felt sorry for Jimbei when she thought back to what happened. She felt a small smile graze her lips as she thought about it. Hey, she said almost, didn't she?

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't feel the warmth of a blanket placed on her shoulders as a young man with blonde hair in his mid-twenties stood beside her.

After a while no one spoke a word. Both were just enjoying the gentle rocking of the boat and the soft caress of the wind as it gave them a cool breeze. So, he was slightly taken aback when she spoke softly.

"Ten times."

"Huh?" He dumbly asked. _'Great. Way to go, Marco.'_

"Ten times" she repeated with a giggle.

"Ten times, what?" He asked, thoroughly confused.

"Ace would usually have a narcoleptic fit ten times a day."

"Oh."

After that, nobody spoke for a while, Luffy being lost in her thoughts while Marco was simply enjoying the moment at her side.

"Ten days."

"What was that?" He asked.

"Ten days."

"What about it?"

"Ten days is the longest fight Ace and I had." She smiled sadly.

"Oh? What was it about?" He inquired.

"Well, it was about our third sibling and Ace actually." She laughed half-heartedly.

"You had another sibling?" he inquired thoughtfully. Ace never actually told him about that.

"Oh, I guess Ace didn't tell you. Well, it's probably because you didn't ask." She said thoughtfully.

Marco sweat dropped a bit. "Who is it then?"

"Sabo..." She said barely above a whisper but he still managed to hear her.

"Sabo? The author?" Marco asked, wracking his brains to impress the brunette.

"Yeah. He always said he was going to sea and write down his adventures, too bad for him though, I hate reading. Bleh." She stuck her tongue out while scrunching her face towards the sea.

Marco chuckled lightly before crossing his arms and leaning against the railing.

"You never actually told me how you ended up fighting with Ace."

"Ahhhh. Well, you see..."

_Flashback_

_The grey terminal was like an inferno. Burning trash, burning flesh, burning chemicals were filling her little lungs as her eyes watered. _

"_Where's the treasure that you brats hid?"_

_Luffy stuck her tongue out as she was trashing viciously while dangling from the scruff of her shirt._

"_Why you little!" Bluejam was about to strike Luffy on the cheek when_

"_Let her go, you stupid punks!" Ace ran towards Luffy when the Bluejam pirates were knocked out suddenly. _

"_Wow, Ace! How did you do that?" Luffy asked, her eyes sparkling with amazement._

"_I don't know. Let's talk about this later. We need to go!" Ace said hurriedly as they were running._

"_Of course you run away." Bluejam taunted Ace._

"_What did you say?" Ace asked as he turned around._

"_You heard me. I said you're a coward, turning tail just like that." Bluejam scoffed._

"_Why you-" Ace was interrupted when he felt a tugging on his shirt._

"_Ace! Let's go! Forget about him! Look! There's Dadan!" Luffy relentlessly tugged on Ace's shirt._

_Ace stood rooted to the spot and removed Luffy's grip from his shirt and ran towards Bluejam. _

"_Ace!" Luffy was about to follow him when Dadan picked her up and gave her to Magura and Dogura._

"_Go back and treat her wounds." Dadan ordered them and trudged off to follow Ace. _

"_That brat's a chip off the old block when it comes down to it." Dadan murmured._

_End of flashback_

"That idiot didn't come back for almost two weeks. And when he did, he was limping while carrying a half-dead Dadan on his back."

"I told him how worried I was that I even skipped meals and thought he was dead and all." Luffy's face was getting as red as a tomato as she thought about it.

"He blew off on me, saying that 'you don't make people dead when they're not.' He screamed at me. I was so mad."

"So, I built a house and stayed there for ten whole days, refusing to speak to Ace. I eventually missed Sabo though. So, when I saw Dogura running to the house, I asked him what's wrong and then he told me that Sabo was killed by the World Nobles."

"It rained so hard that night you know. I ran to the cliff and just lay down there, face down. I cried my eyes out."

"The next day, I was so sick. My head pounded so badly. But, I heard him. Ace was running around, shouting for my name, and he saw me. He had tears in his eyes and a letter clutched in his hand. I never knew what it was though."

_Flashback_

"_Luffy!" Ace ran around frantically._

"_LUFFY!" Ace shouted with all his might._

"_MONKEY D. LUFFY!" He tried once more._

_Ace saw a lump on the dirt. If he wasn't observant enough, he would have passed right by it, but then he saw it. Luffy's most prized boshi._

"_Luffy! What the hell! What are you doing here? Did you stay out here all night?" Ace fired question after question at Luffy while feeling her forehead._

"_You idiot! You're burning!" _

_Luffy ignored the comment and said hoarsely "Ace..."_

"_What is it?" He asked softly._

"_Don't die like Sabo." Luffy said with tears streaking down her eyes._

"_You baka. Do you think I'd die and leave a wimp like you to fend for herself?" _

"_Promise me." Luffy said more firmly._

"_Fine. I'll never die, no matter what." Ace said as he carried Luffy back to Dadan's house._

"_And just so you know, I'm not a wimp anymore! My punch is like a pistol now." She said while demonstrating it to him, but failed miserably because she caught the flu._

_End of flashback._

Marco chuckled lightly.

"Hey! Don't laugh. It's not funny. My punch IS like a pistol." She pouted.

"What happened to Sabo, then? You said he died?"

"As it turns out, he was with my dad all along. I was with Iva-chan and Inazuma-san and we were going to see my dad when I bumped into him. It was funny, actually. I screamed at him for three hours straight. Well, that was a bad idea since my dad was sleeping at the time. So that was the story of how I ended up cleaning the revolutionaries' base." She smiled a bright smile and waved it offhandedly.

"Hmmm, that was interesting." Marco started while staring ahead of him. _'Here's your chance Marco! Tell her how you feel!'_

"Luffy?" Marco started.

"Hmmmm?" She said while closing her eyes and bathing under the light of the moon.

Marco turned his head to look at her when his breath hitched, his heart jumped, and his tongue got caught in his throat. He quickly spun his head to look at the most interesting thing in the world right now. His feet.

"Marco? What was it?" Luffy asked while staring at him curiously.

"I-uh-you-dance-summit-pirate." Marco stuttered. _'Ooooh, 'cos Marco you sound real cool right now.'_

They both stayed silent. Luffy was drawing idly on the rails with her finger while Marco was trying to be coherent again.

"You..." Marco never got to finish his sentence when he felt additional weight on his shoulder and soft snores.

"Will you go to the pirate summit ball with me?" He whispered quietly.

Marco sighed and carried Luffy back to her cabin.

* * *

Well, since before while watching One Piece, Ace told Luffy to meet him in the Pirate Summit. At first, I thought it was an event where all pirates from the New World gathered. But, then I realized it was just Ace's way of saying 'at the top'. So, here.

Tell me if you guys want a second chapter, okay? If not, I can leave this as it is. :)

Love it? Hate it? Review.

-Greentulip


	2. PORCELAIN TILE

Oh, hay thur. :) Here's an update for my lovely friend who inspired me to write this, 7saix-puppy7! :) This one's for you. :)

You guys should check out her story: "Phoenix's Light" I swear, you'll love it. :)

Disclaimer: I own not, Oda-sensei's brilliancy.

* * *

The first division commander of the Whitebeard pirates, loved to sleep in. Every single one of his crewmates knew that. Heck, even Tatch and Ace left him alone in the morning when they were still around.

So, when he heard the stomping of feet outside his door, he tried his best to ignore it and snuggled closer to his pillow.

_*stomp* *stomp* *stomp*_

He raised the blanket over his head.

"_Hurry!"_

"_Look everywhere!"_

"_I did!"_

"_Have you seen her?"_

He grabbed his pillow and shoved it to his face to block the noise out.

"_Oh shit. Commander Izou wouldn't like this one bit."_

"_I know!"_

Marco was curled on his bed with the pillow over his head and the blanket covering him lightly. He heard the men who were speaking outside his cabin leave.

After a few minutes when he knew that sleep was not returning anytime soon, he changed his clothes and trudged to go to the upper deck.

He was walking sluggishly when he noticed the commotion around him. He saw his crewmates running to and fro frantically, some were even shouting and tripping.

Marco saw a boy around his early-teens that he recognized him as a new recruit. The boy was going to run past him when he grabbed the boy by the scruff of his collar.

"What's the big ide-" The boy never finished his sentence when he saw the owner of the hand.

"C-c-commander M-m-m-marco!" The boy stuttered.

Marco let go of the boy's shirt and looked at him directly. "What's all the commotion about?"

"Ahh. You see, commander Izou, commander Haruta, and the nurses are looking for Mugiwara Luffy."

"Luffy? Why?" Marco said, eying the boy suspiciously.

"Ahh, I really have no idea, commander. They just ordered us to look for her and bring her to them."

Marco nodded slowly and dismissed the young lad.

'What did she do this time?' he smirked inwardly.

**JUST BECAUSE BY GREENTULIP**

Luffy was hiding at the top of the Moby Dick's mast. She was careful to hide her body to prevent her from being seen by the members of the Whitebeard crew.

She thought back to how all of this happened.

_Flashback_

_It was just around eight in the morning when Luffy stepped out into the upper deck of the Moby Dick. She was wearing short black shorts that reached mid-thigh and a deep red bikini top. _

_Nobody was up yet, since most of them are heavy sleepers. She stood by one of the rails and began stretching and doing some morning exercises. She closed her eyes as she did a split while reaching for both her toes._

_Luffy was in the middle of a back-bend when she heard someone choking. She looked slightly annoyed when she looked up._

_She stared expectantly at the nose-bleeding Izou._

"_Luffy! What are you doing?" The cross-dresser almost screamed at her while cradling his nose._

"_Excercising. Rayleigh-ossan told me to not always rely on my devil fruit."_

"_I can see that!" He snapped at her._

"_Then why'd you ask?" She asked, curiously._

"_I mean, why are you wearing that, that... that thing!" Izou screamed while pointing an accusing finger at her._

"_You mean this?" She gestured towards her top._

"_YES!" he all but screamed his head off._

"_Geez, no need to shout." Luffy said while picking at her ear. _"_Well, it's hot and I can't find my vest." she continued._

_Izou was so busy scolding Luffy that he didn't notice another person with them 'til Luffy greeted her._

"_Oh, hey Haruta!" Luffy cheerfully waved as Haruta looked wide-eyed at Luffy._

"_What. Are. You. Wearing." Haruta stated._

_Luffy's grin turned into a pout. "Haven't you two seen clothes?" she mumbled._

"_I've seen clothes. But, what you're wearing is a piece of tape." Haruta pointed out bluntly while Izou was nodding his head in agreement._

_Luffy huffed an irritated sigh and was about to go back inside when Izou stopped her._

"_Hey, Luffy. How about a game?" Izou slyly stated._

_Luffy's ears perked up and turned her full attention back to Izou. "Game? What game?" she asked eagerly._

"_A game of poker." _

"_Really? How does it go? Do I just poke you and I win?" Luffy grinned._

"_No, you idiot. It's a card game." _

"_Ahhh. A mystery game." Luffy pounded her fist in her hand while nodding to herself._

_Izou bobbed Luffy at the back of her head. "You idiot, it's a card game and we'll make a bet."_

_As Izou and Haruta explained the rules of the game to Luffy, the nurses came out and joined in._

"_Ah. Okay, I get it now." Luffy stated looking completely lost._

"_Sure you do." Izou, Haruta, and the nurses grinned mischievous grins._

"_So, what's the bet?" One of the nurses asked._

"_If we win" Izou began "We get to dress you up and you have to wear it and act like a real girl until the day ends." Haruta ended while looking at Luffy. The nurses grinned._

"_And if I win, I get to raid your refrigerator." Luffy smiled her broadest smile._

"_Deal."_

_-;-_

"_What?" Luffy scratched her head._

"_You lost." One of the nurses said, laughing lightly._

"_How?" _

"_Well, you don't have any good cards." _

"_Re-match!" Luffy said eagerly._

"_But, that was already the tenth round, Luffy." Haruta said, chuckling._

"_Now, about the deal..." Izou started with the nurses readying her camera and Haruta readying to pounce on Luffy if needed._

_End of flashback_

'_Well'_ she thought_ 'it really is hot.'_

She was about to fall asleep when her brain alerted her of what will happen if she get caught. She shuddered at the thought of getting caught by Izou or Haruta... On second thought, she'd rather surrender herself to them instead of the nurses.

Luffy inwardly gave herself a pat on the back for thinking of a back-up plan. But, for now, she's going to just sit back and enjoy their little game.

**JUST BECAUSE BY GREENTULIP**

The clock just stroke nine when Marco finally arrived to the upper deck and bumped into Vista.

"Oh, hey Marco. Why'd you wake up so early?" Vista asked curiously.

"A better question would be, how I would've been able to sleep through all this." Marco stated while gesturing around him.

"Ahh. Touché." Vista laughed.

"There she is!" a random crewmember shouted.

"Get her!" Izou shouted.

They all ran towards Luffy who was now sitting at the top of the mast, Indian-style.

"Took you long enough." She laughed happily.

The men saw what she wore and all had massive nosebleeds.

Marco saw this and turned his arms to wings and flew over to Luffy.

"Oh, hey, Marco!" She waved childishly at him.

"Ahh, you idiot. What'd you do this time?" He said as he placed his vest around her.

"Ah, it's not my fault" She pouted "I lost a bet with Izou, Haruta, and the nurses."

Marco raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Uhm, you see..."

"MARCO!" as he heard his name being called, he looked down to see Izou glaring at him.

"Bring her down. Now." He looked pointedly at him.

Marco sighed and looked over Luffy, who, conveniently had a narcoleptic fit. He scooped her bridal style and jumped of the mast, landing with a thud in front of Izou.

"Here. Just don't hurt her, okay?" Marco said as he handed the snoring heap to Izou.

"Oh. Don't worry. We'll be gentle all right." Izou smirked mischievously as Haruta, the nurses and him carried Luffy to Haruta's cabin.

After a few minutes, a shriek could be heard throughout the four blues.

* * *

Hohohoho :D How'd you guys like this one?

I was so afraid when I thought nobody liked this since not much people reviewed. But, oh well.

Love it? Hate it? Please review! :D

JA~

-Greentulip.


	3. OF HERMIT CRABS AND GETTING LOST

HELLOOOOOOO! :D UPDATE, UPDATE! :D BECAUSE I FELT LIKE UPDATING BECAUSE I LOVE CHAPTER 602 OF ONE PIECE.

But, I don't know if people even read this... Mahhh. Nevermind. Here you go!

Me do not owns One pissu! It owned by Oda-sensei, kapish?

* * *

After the incident with the captain of the 'notorious' Mugiwara Kaizokudan, the Whitebeard crew went on about their business around the ship.

Almost an hour has passed when the door to Haruta's cabin opened, letting the dishevelled nurses to come out, followed by a grinning Izou and a victorious-looking Haruta.

"Ladies and gentlemen" Izou started.

"We now present to you" Haruta continued

"Mu-" they were interrupted when they heard Luffy yell "Oi, you two! Can I change?"

The two looked at each other before whispering something to the nurses. The nurses hurriedly went inside and crashes were heard.

Izou cleared his throat. "Anyways, here is Monkey D. Luffy!"

When they stepped aside, Luffy was seen to be wearing a deep red spaghetti-strapped dress that ended under her knees and a short knitted white cardigan that ended just below her elbows, light make up, black high-heeled sandals, and her boshi was perched gently on top of her short hair that was curled into soft ringlets so that it softly brushed her face.

She would've been considered as the most beautiful woman in all the four blues if she weren't wearing a frown.

"Oh, cheer up, Luffy-chan!" coaxed Haruta.

"Island!" a random crew member shouted from the mast.

"See, Luffy, an island!" Izou said.

Luffy turned around and ignored them. Before taking the first step, Izou tapped her shoulder.

"Hmmmm. I remember the deal was that you act lady-like too."

"Screw the deal." Luffy said.

"Oh, my. A true pirate always keeps his or her word, huh, Haruta?" Izou asked solemnly.

"I guess this one's another wannabe, I guess." Haruta tried to hide a smirk when she saw Luffy tense and straighten up.

"That's just low." Luffy muttered while walking daintily to the mess hall where the majority of the Whitebeard crew stayed, eating breakfast.

-;-

The mess hall was deathly silent when the doors opened gently revealing a now grinning Luffy, tailed by Haruta and Izou.

Haruta ran in front of her and snapped a picture of Luffy before her grin was turned into a deep scowl.

Luffy pushed her boshi lower so that it covered her eyes as she walked daintily towards the table that held food.

Luffy gently grabbed a plate and piled it up with meat rather viciously.

"Oi, Luffy. Lady-like, remember?" Izou said while grinning sadistically.

Luffy turned her head slightly in her direction before shrugging and grabbing her plate that was piled with meat and looking up around the room.

The crew shivered involuntarily when her gaze swept among them. It all intensified when the door opened, revealing Marco and Vista who were chatting lightly.

When the two noticed that the rowdy mess hall was deathly quiet, he let his gaze wander around the room and flinched when he saw Luffy glaring at him.

Marco whistled lowly when he took in how she looked.

"Looking good, Luffy." Marco grinned.

"You idiot! I'm going to kill you!" Luffy placed her plate down on the table and was going to charge at him when the Whitebeard crew finally reacted and held her down.

"Let me go! I'm going to kill that traitor!" Luffy shrieked.

"Marco! Get out! Let her cool down!" Vista shouted at him.

Marco smirked at Luffy as the girl struggled beneath the piles of men.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?" Luffy began to trash viciously as the men around her blushed heavily from the contact.

Izou shot a bullet at her head before it bounced right off. All trashing, shrieking, cursing stopped when the girl went limp.

"Holy Roger, Izou! You killed Ace's little sister!" Jozu shouted in his face.

"You idiot. She just had a fit."They all looked down to see that he was, indeed, telling the truth.

The three brought Luffy to her cabin and fixed her up before leaving her to sleep for a while.

-;-

Luffy woke up around two in the afternoon; she looked at her clothes and shrugged. Not really caring anymore.

She strapped on her high heels and walked outside to the deck. She glanced around and saw that they have docked on an inhabited island and decided that she would explore when she had a better idea.

Luffy walked sluggishly while her hand was placed on the wall as she walked. She smiled when she saw that she arrived to the place where she was planning to go to.

She opened the door gently and popped her head inside and saw that the man he was looking for was seated against the headboard of the bed and placed his hand on his lips as a signal to keep quiet and pointed to the hunched body of the pineapple-haired man that was situated on an armchair.

"Ossan." Luffy smiled cheerfully before sitting at the seat on his bedside.

"Gaki." Whitebeard gave her an eye-crinkling grin.

"How have you been, ossan? You look crappier than the last time I remember." Luffy said, pouring sake as she gave the strong pirate a glance over.

Whitebeard laughed heartily at the comment as he downed the healing medicine. "I'm not exactly your age, am I, Gaki?" and indeed, he did look far from the feared pirate that was known throughout the world. His body seemed less muscular than usual. His face was now aged and he now appeared smaller than he used to be.

"You're right, ossan!" Luffy grinned.

"I heard you tried to kill my son, gaki." Luffy scowled at nothing before turning to Whitebeard.

Luffy bobbed her head once in affirmation. "That bastard gave me to Izou and Haruta. That traitor."

Whitebeard just stared at her. "Ahh. That's why the clothing's different."

Luffy looked outside the window then back at him.

"Ossan."

Whitebeard grunted in response.

"When was the last time you've been on an adventure?"

"A long time now, gaki."

"Do you want to have an adventure now?" Luffy was practically bouncing in her seat now.

Whitebeard smiled and hopped off his bed.

-;-

"You're such an idiot, gaki." Whitebeard called out from behind Luffy.

"Eh?"

"We're lost." Whitebeard stared passively at Luffy.

"Don't blame this on me! Aren't you a captain too?" Luffy challenged.

"That's why I have navigators." He and Luffy shared a look before bursting in laughter.

"Damn straight!" Luffy placed her boshi on her head and stretched her head up.

"Oh! I found it a lake, a way deeper into the forest and your ship. Where do you want to go?"

Whitebeard looked up the sky and saw that it was still around three in the afternoon.

"To the lake it is."

-;-

The two arrived back to the ship and boy was it chaotic.

"Hey, what's going on?" Luffy asked a frantic crewmember.

"Oyaji's missing!" He screamed at her.

"But, he's right there." She pointed next to her.

The crewmember looked at Whitebeard and cried at his feet.

"Oyaji! I thought you were kidnapped or something!" Whitebeard bonked the boy on his head and said

"Why would that happen?" Whitebeard sighed before gazing lovingly at his family.

He turned his head to the girl who caused all of this and saw her back at the shore, tailing a poor hermit crab.

-;-

Luffy crouched down behind the hermit crab, thoroughly amused that she didn't notice the tall figure looming over her.

"Stop stalking the crab." Marco stated.

"Oh, hey, Marco!" Luffy looked up and grinned.

"Huh. Not trying to kill me, are we?"

"Eh? Why would I do that?" Luffy looked at him confusedly.

Marco sighed and was about to retort when Luffy slumped down the sand and started piling the dirt.

"What are you doing?"

Luffy rolled her eyes "building a castle, obviously."

"That looks like an ant hill." He teased.

"shut up!" Luffy blushed heavily.

"Let's see you do one, smarty pants." Marco shrugged and made a small castle, nothing too grand, but enough to impress the brunette.

"sugoi!" her eyes sparkled with amazement.

Luffy ran to the woods and came back to him with a small branch and a big leaf.

"Here." Luffy handed him the leaf.

"What will I do with this?" Marco asked confusedly.

"I want you to write something on it." Luffy grinned

"Tell me what to write then."

Luffy told him what to write and he couldn't help but let an idiotic grin glue itself on his face.

-;-

Marco and Luffy were walking along the shore with her in front and him trailing behind her. He was holding her sandals as she ran with arms spread out, feeling the wind. They were talking about random things until it came down to what they want to do the most.

"I..." Luffy started "I want to reunite with my nakama, be pirate king, and..."

"And..?" Marco prodded.

"And I want to fly." Luffy smiled sadly.

"Fly? Why fly?"

"I want to fly because, if Ace is in heaven, he might be able to see me and hear me better, even if it's just for a while."

"What about you, Marco? What do you want to do the most?"

"I..." Marco started 'Want to be with you.' He added in his thoughts.

"I want to be with oyaji and the family as long as possible." He finally answered.

"That's a nice goal, Marco."

Luffy ran back to him and stared at his ankle.

"What are you looking at?"Marco asked.

"What's that thing you always wear on your ankle?"

"Oh, that? It was a gift from my mom when I was a kid."Marco stared at the ornament fondly.

"It's really pretty." Luffy stated as she turned around and began walking again.

Luffy has been walking a few steps when she was stopped by the shoulder. She turned around to see Marco bent down by her feet.

"What are you doing?"

"A gift." He said plainly and then stood up.

"Gift?" she looked down and her eyes widened.

"Are you okay with this?" she asked cautiously while admiring the ornament.

"Yes. Take care of it." Marco stated 'and my heart' he prayed mentally.

Luffy looked at his back as he started walking again. Luffy grinned and jumped on his back.

"Thanks Marco! I'll take good care of it, promise!" Luffy laughed as she hung from his back like a kid and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

Marco smiled and pink dusted his cheeks as he continued to walk back to the ship.

-;-

Haruta and Izou smirked as they looked at the photos they got of the two on the beach.

One was of Luffy gazing at the hermit crab while Marco stood protectively behind her.

The other was when Marco was lagging behind Luffy as the girl twirled as she ran ahead of him.

One was when Marco was placing the ornament on her feet which quite shocked them since he never lets anyone touch it.

And the one they love the most was one that Luffy asked them to take one off. The last one they took for that afternoon.

Luffy was crouching by the castle as Marco placed his hand on top of her head as he shifted his weight on that arm. On top of his head, was Luffy's prized boshi and on her ankle was Marco's anklet.

Luffy was grinning widely at the camera with a peace sign, sporting a grin much like to the one on her bounty picture.

While Marco was grinning slightly as he was supporting himself through placing his hand on Luffy's head. But, you can see the happiness glistening in his eyes.

Behind them was a medium-sized sand castle with a leaf for a flag and shells as windows and doors.

The words scrawled on the flag made them grin widely.

-;-

As the Moby Dick sailed away from the shore, a hermit crab crawled inside the hollow castle as the leaf flag fluttered with the wind.

"_Luffy and Marco's castle"_

_

* * *

_Was the last part a bit stupid?

Love it? Hate it? You know I appreciate reviews! :D

JA~

-Greentulip.


	4. LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME

BONJOUR! :D

Sorry this is SUPER late. But, I've been busy as hell. D: But, I got great grades man! :D

Here's an update :D Oh yeah, this contains A LOT of Luffy/Marco and some Luffy/Ace. LOLOL

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Luffy slept soundly in the covers of her cabin in the second Moby Dick.

"_Luffy!"_

_Luffy looked around, dazed as she heard a voice that she thought she'd never hear again._

"_Ace..?" she whispered._

_She looked around frantically._

"_Right here, idiot." A taunting voice called out._

"_Where?" she shot up and started running._

_She ran and ran until she was panting. But, the weird part was that not a single thing changed. The wind was still blowing softly, the trees rustled gently, and as she took in her surrounding, she fell unceremoniously to the ground._

_She wailed soundlessly as vibrations shook her whole body._

_Because, there, at the end of the path lay the house where she found brothers and people who'd love her unconditionally, undeterred by any strong calamity._

_The small little cabin that housed her, Sabo, Ace, Dadan, and the bandits, stood tall and proud as the last time she remembered._

_She felt herself getting picked up by strong arms and was placed gently on the person's lap as she was rocked back and forth._

_Luffy looked tearfully at her brother's gently smiling face._

_Ace wiped Luffy's tears and kissed her forehead._

"_Shhh. Ace's here." _

_Luffy tightened her hold around Ace's well-built form and allowed herself a sigh of relief._

"_Ace... I missed you." Luffy whispered as she buried her head in his chest and inhaled his scent so that it would be engraved in her mind._

_Ace let out a throaty laugh and ruffled her hair. "I missed you too."_

"_Ace?"_

"_Hmm?" _

"_Why... Why do you smell different?" Luffy asked while her eyebrows creased in confusion._

_Ace leaned her back to look her in the eyes and gave her an incredulous look before he howled in laughter._

"_What's so funny?" she punched him in the arm._

"_Ah, nothing, nothing, it's just that, only you are the only one I know who would ask a question like that after so long." Ace smiled._

"_Well?" she asked._

"_Well, before I answer that, what did I smell like before?" _

"_Hmm, gunpowder and fire." She sighed as she remembered._

"_What do I smell like now?"_

"_I. Don't. Know." She said as she inhaled his scent every time she ended, to emphasize._

"_Well, you'll have to find out then." Ace smiled as he stood up and placed her on her feet._

"_What? Why not just tel-"_

_She was cut off when he kissed her forehead._

"_I hope you remember what's with today. Take care of yourself." He whispered lovingly._

"_What?" she asked confusedly and realization hit her. _

"_Don't leave." She pleaded._

"_I love you," Ace hugged her tightly. _

_And everything vanished._

Luffy shot up in her bed and sobbed silently.

"_Stupid Ace... I love you too." She whispered quietly._

She got up and dressed in her red vest and blue shorts with her yellow sash tied around her waist. Her vest slightly open, revealing the large scar on her chest area.

And for once since her stay in Whitebeard's ship, Luffy walked out of her room decently dressed.

**JUST BECAUSE BY GREENTULIP**

As Luffy passed, the Whitebeard pirates would greet her or just nod at her and she just kept quiet and headed to the rails of Moby Dick.

Everyone wasn't surprised when she didn't go straight to the mess hall and started inhaling all the meat.

'Maybe she's sick?' was the thought that ran through the new recruits while the old ones just glanced at her and gave a knowing smile.

Luffy was staring at the water when someone shouted "Land, ho!"

She was a bit shocked that they were docking and steadily made way to Whitebeard's cabin.

-;-

She entered and plopped herself on the seat beside Whitebeard's bed.

Whitebeard looked at her and smiled a bit before he greeted her.

"Happy birthday, gaki."

Luffy looked up as if she had been electrocuted, which is quite impossible since she's made of rubber.

"Wha-what?" she looked at him.

"I said happy birthday." He stated while flipping to the next page of a book.

"What is it today?" she asked, nervousness eating up her mind.

"May 5th," He said gruffly. "Why so tense?" he followed while smiling a knowing-grin.

"How the hell did I forget." She sighed as she beat herself up mentally.

"The D. tradition?"

Luffy looked at him and all the nervousness slipped away.

"Did you celebrate it with Ace too?" she asked quietly while he nodded.

"Well..?" he said.

"Well, what?"

"Get out." Whitebeard stated and Luffy walked out to the deck to see it empty.

-;-

Luffy walked to her bedroom and sighed.

'How do I celebrate without my nakama?' she thought silently.

She was lost in her thoughts when she heard two soft knocks.

She looked out the window and was even more shocked when she saw twinkling stars instead of white fluffy clouds.

She opened the door and smiled at the person.

"Hey, Marco." She said quietly.

And to those who knew Luffy, something was wrong when she was quiet.

"Why so quiet?" Marco asked while stretching her cheeks. "PMS-ing?"

Luffy blushed and punched him in the stomach.

"Not funny."

Marco chuckled while gingerly nursing his stomach.

"I was kidding you know... But, anyways, wear this and come with me." He said while holding a red blindfold.

"Alright." Luffy turned around as Marco tied the blindfold around her eyes and led her by the small of her back.

"Remember. No haki." Marco said pointedly as Luffy sighed dejectedly.

-;-

When they were off the ship and Luffy felt sand between her toes, she smiled a bit.

When Marco stopped her from taking another step, she became curious and cautious; after all, the war did harden her once carefree soul.

"...And open your eyes." Marco said as he tugged off the blindfold.

She smiled a broad grin for the first time that day.

Because a big unlit bonfire was in the middle and the Whitebeard pirates grinned at her and then Izou came up and handed her an unlit torch.

Luffy looked at Marco and smiled a heart-melting smile.

Marco nodded dazedly, and turned a finger to flame and lit the torch.

Luffy walked over to the bonfire and threw the torch in.

When the fire was alive and roaring, she looked back at the pirates and grinned like an idiot.

"Well? What are you guys standing around for? Let's get this party started!" she shouted and heard a chorus of 'Aye's!'

-;-

It was well past midnight when most of the crew retreated or for some, opted for just passing out on the shore.

It was almost sunrise when a lone figure sat at the edge of the shore, contemplating quietly.

'Ah, Ace. Did you remind ossan about today? I almost forgot. Stupid me.' She swore on Roger's grave that she heard a chuckle distinct to Ace's voice.

"Still up?" she heard a voice she knew by heart.

"Yep."

He lay next to her and enjoyed the feel of the cool water on his feet.

"I know it's quite late and all, but, happy birthday Luffy." He said while staring at the sky.

Luffy smiled and stared at the sky as well. "Thank you. You're the third one to greet." She said lovingly as her eyes twinkled.

Marco raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Instead, he stood up, dusted his pants and crouched beside her with his back facing her.

"I'll give you your gift." He explained when she looked at him questioningly.

"...Alright."

Luffy perched herself on his back and hugged him tightly.

"Well, hold tight." He said as his arms burst into flames and turned to the most beautiful wings she's ever seen.

She nuzzled her head at the nook of his neck as they flew higher and higher.

Marco flew smoothly until they were at a high altitude and then he just glided.

"You... You said you wanted to fly. And, since I figured you're setting sail later..." Marco started rambling.

"Thank you, Marco. It means a lot." She said quietly in his ear.

Luffy closed her eyes and said everything she wanted to say to her dearest brother.

'_You know, Ace, I think I didn't love you as a brother. I think I loved you much more than that and I only realized this when you were hit by that magma-freak. But, nothing's going to come from that now, isn't there? I... I moved on, I think. And I hope you're happy up there.' She thought silently._

When she opened her eyes, the sun was rising.

Luffy smiled as she felt a strong gust of wind blow. She looked at Marco and tightened her hold around his neck.

"Let's go back." She said as he turned his head a bit.

"Alright." He said as he flew back to the beach.

-;-

"That was amazing!" she said enthusiastically as her eyes sparkled with amazement.

He chuckled deeply. "I know."

Luffy ran in front of him and peered at him from under her strawhat.

"What?" he asked amused, when inside, his heart was thumping non-stop.

She shook her head and stepped forward and motioned for him to lower his head.

He did as he was told, and when he did, Luffy did the last thing he'd predicted her to do.

She laced her arms around Marco's neck, grinned the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on her and kissed him.

At first, Marco was just too shocked to respond. It was nothing like the women who'd kissed him before. He felt like his nerve endings were live wires. It felt like, every single one of his senses were intensified.

But, when he was about to respond, Luffy pulled away and smiled at him.

He stared at her dumbly and before he thought about it, he uttered. "Will you go to the Pirate Summit ball with me?"

"I'd love to." She said as she gave him another peck on the lips and stretched to the Moby Dick.

-;-

Later that morning, around noon, everybody was saying their farewells to Luffy as she dropped her things on the boat Whitebeard gave her.

"Ahh~ Thank you for the party!" She grinned widely when everybody cheered.

"Bye Luffy! Go be pirate king!" a random crew member shouted.

"I will!" she laughed heartily and jumped off the ship to her boat.

She was about to depart when a large sea king appeared in front of her. The Whitebeard crew were getting ready to attack when she beat up the poor thing in one blow.

The Whitebeard crew shuddered in fright at the young pirate. And one thought crossed their minds.

'_Never cross her or you die.'_

While they were marvelling at the feat she achieved, she somehow managed to tame the beast and tie it to her boat.

"Well, I'm off you guys! Oh! And tell Marco to look under his pillow!"

The crewmembers looked at each other confusedly but nodded nonetheless.

-;-

Marco was seated on his bed and was thinking about his 'dream' last night.

Oh, how happy he'd be if that were actually true!

He sat there for a while when a young crewmember knocked.

"What?" he said distractedly.

"Luffy-san told us to tell you to look under your pillow." Marco looked at him incredulously while the poor lad shot back the same look.

"Alright. You may go. Thanks."

The door swung shut with a resounding click.

He looked under the pillow and grabbed the piece of paper.

_Dear Marco,_

_If you're reading this, you probably didn't see me off. I'm hurt. D:_

_Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that, here's my vivre card and wear something red. Be there around seven of the date of the ball, alright?_

_With love,_

_Luffy_

Marco stared at the piece of paper and had an idiotic grin glued on his face for the rest of the day.

-;-

To say that the Whitebeard pirates were freaked would be the biggest understatement of the year.

* * *

Love it? Hate it? You know I love reviews! :D

xoxo,

Greentulip.


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